When Ole Kirk Kristiansen started making wooden toys in 1932 after losing his job, he probably never imagined the company he founded would one day become one of the best-known brands in the world.

But it has. And now Lego, a firm favourite in the toy chests of millions of children, is ready to celebrate. The family business is planning to open a new “experience centre” in Denmark, which will “give children and parents from across the world a fun and informative insight into Lego play, values and history”.

Opening such a centre has long-since been a goal of family member Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the company’s former chief and current board member, who has wanted to create a place where everyone – not just employees – could learn about the company for years.

“It will be somewhere where people can enjoy active fun but at the same time it will be an educational and inspirational experience – everything that Lego play offers,” said Kirk Kristiansen.

The centre, provisionally called the Lego Brand House, will be built in the next three to five years in Billund – the very place where Lego was founded.

Interestingly, for a company best known for its plastic bricks, Lego is also the biggest manufacturer of tyres in the world, albeit rather small ones.

It produces about 381 million wheels a year – the smallest is just 14.4 millimetres tall, the largest 10.7 centimetres.